THUNDERBIRDS

T-Birds notebook: Rybisnki fitting in, Uchacz back and the Blazers

Mar 1, 2019, 10:36 AM | Updated: 11:00 am

Since joining the Thunderbirds, Henrik Rybinski has been a forechecking force. (Brian Liesse/T-Bird...

Since joining the Thunderbirds, Henrik Rybinski has been a forechecking force. (Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

(Brian Liesse/T-Birds)

Hockey coaches often use the phrase ‘hard to play against’ when describing certain players. They aren’t necessarily talking about the biggest or strongest players, instead they are more likely describing a player like Seattle Thunderbirds forward Henrik Rybinski.

Rybinski isn’t the biggest guy on the ice but he is tough to play against thanks to his tenacious and relentless pursuit of the puck. He’s always going to be in your face, hounding you as you try to move up ice.

His season started in Medicine Hat but the fit with the Tigers wasn’t what the 17-year-old had hoped for so he asked for a trade and the Thunderbirds were able to pick him up before the trade deadline in January. After what has been a bit of whirlwind year, the fit in Seattle has been good.

“I finally feel like I’ve found a home,” he said prior to Wednesday’s practice. “In Med Hat, it was comfortable in the beginning but that comfortableness of playing there wore off. It’s come back and I feel like I’m part of something, part of a future.”

Rybinski has been a big part of the Thunderbirds second half improvement that has them fighting for a playoff spot.

He routinely causes havoc by surprising an opposing defenseman who sees the time and space he thought he had vanish as Rybinski bears down on him. Rybinski goes hard on every shift and is the middle of the action.

“It’s always been how I play,” Rybisnki added. “I like to strip pucks from the d-men and just always played with a little tenacity.”

Hailing from Vancouver, living in a larger city hasn’t been too much of an adjustment for Rybinski. Playing in front of large, loud U.S. Division crowds has. The Eastern Conference doesn’t have the same atmosphere in arenas that has become the norm in the U.S. – especially in the accesso ShoWare Center and up in Everett.

When Rybinski first arrived, he was excited to experience both the home crowd and a loud, hostile road crowd.

“Its definitely different,” Rybinski said. “Back in Med Hat you didn’t get those huge crowds, so you didn’t really have to learn how to deal with the crowd’s energy. Here, you have to learn how to use it for your advantage or weather the storm. I love it, it makes hockey so much better.”

Since joining the Thunderbirds, the tenacious play of Rybinski has paid off statistically. In his 24 games with Seattle he’s scored four times while piling up 17 assists for 21 points. Many of those assists have come after he’s forced turnovers.

It’s his NHL Draft year as he is eligible to be selected in his hometown this coming June. He has shown up on some of the NHL Central Scouting lists as a potentially drafted player.

“My parents and agents have kept it really low key for me,” he said about dealing with the pressure of the draft. “They told me to go out and play. That’s what I’ve been doing. I just try to go out there and have fun and try to get better every day.”

Rybinski figures to be a key part of the Thunderbirds future.

He’ll be back next season as the Thunderbirds will welcome in a strong 2018 draft class and build for a team that will be fun to watch in the coming seasons.

“I want to be here the rest of my WHL career and try to bring a championship, hopefully, here and have success,” he said. “I just love it a lot here.”

Kai Uchacz returns

One of those 2018 drafted players was back in Seattle practicing with the Thunderbirds this week. First-round pick Kai Uchacz is with the Thunderbirds and will stay with the club for the remainder of the season and playoffs.

The 2003-born player has appeared in three games with Seattle already and his allowed to go past the five-game minimum because his Midget season has ended. In that season, with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Midget Hockey League, the 6-foot-0 center potted 16 goals along with 15 assists for 31 points in 28 games.

He added two scores and six assists playing for Team Alberta in the recently completed Canada Winter Games. One of Seattle’s second round picks, Connor Roulette, also played in that tournament, for Team Manitoba, and chipped in with four goals and four assists.

Red hot showdown with Blazers

Seattle faces another grueling three-in-three schedule this weekend and while all points are critical with just nine games left on the schedule, none are bigger than the two up for grabs Friday night. The Thunderbirds will travel to the Sandman Centre in Kamloops to take on a Blazers squad that they are fighting for a playoff spot with.

Coming into the game, the Thunderbirds have a three-point cushion for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, but the Blazers have a game in hand. Kamloops beat Tri-City earlier in the week to pull closer to Seattle and can get to within a point if they win in regulation Friday.

The two teams met twice in the first half of the season and both resulted in lopsided wins for Kamloops. Seattle, with its upgraded roster, beat Kamloops in the two teams last meeting on Jan. 27th at the ShoWare Center.

Seattle will have to find a way to get pucks and traffic on the net that most likely will be occupied by Vegas Golden Knights prospect Dylan Ferguson. The Thunderbirds will also have to contend with forward Zane Franklin who leads Kamloops in scoring with 26 goals and 59 points.

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